ATP Delray Beach

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Busy Month on ATP Tour Sees Federer Claim Title #100, Monfils Return to Form
Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic

After Novak Djokovic claimed the Australian Open title, the ATP season roared into February with multiple 500 level events and a number of 250s on clay and hard courts across the globe. Here is your look at all the action for the month that was.

ATP Montpellier

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Veteran Jo-Wilfried Tsonga won an all French final in this indoor 250 6-4 6-2 against Pierre-Hugues Herbert. The veteran beat Gilles Simon, Jeremy Chardy and Radu Albot in consecutive matches to reach the final, overall he defeated four French players to win the tournament. PHH upset Denis Shapovalov and Tomas Berdych to reach the final.

ATP Sofia

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Bulgaria’s only ATP event was won by the in-form Daniil Medvedev 6-4 6-3 against Marton Fucsovics. Fucsovics had a breakthrough after upsetting Andreas Sepi and getting a walkover against Roberto Bautista Agut in the quarters (then edging Matteo Berrettini in the semis). Medvedev got past Gael Monfils in the semis and prior to that he scored wins against Robin Haase and Martin Klizan in consecutive matches. Medvedev’s win helped him reach the top 15, he’s now 1-1 in ATP finals this year.

ATP Cordoba

On clay in Argentina home hero and wild card Juan Ignacio Londero won his first ever ATP title prevailing against Guido Pella 3-6 7-5 6-1 in a huge moment for him. Londero’s breakthrough pushed him to a new career high in the top 70 and he beat clay courters Nicolas Jarry and Federico Delbonis most notably to make the final. Pella had a good month edging Paolo Lorenzi, Diego Schwartzman, Albert Ramos, and Pablo Cuevas to reach the final in what was a tough path for a 250.

ATP New York

The first ATP 250 in the States this year saw Reilly Opelka lift his first title in three sets 6-1 6-7 7-6 against maiden finalist Brayden Schnur, a Canadian. Opelka also upset top American John Isner, while Schnur edged Sam Querrey in the semis. Opelka’s powerful serve was a difference maker and he should be a factor in Indian Wells and Miami coming up.

ATP Buenos Aires

The 250 on clay in Buenos Aires resulted in Marco Cecchinato’s third career ATP title 6-1 6-2 against home player Diego Schwartzman. Schwartzman upset Dominic Thiem and also beat Aljaz Bedene and Albert Ramos to reach the final. Cecchinato beat Christian Garin, Roberto Carballes Baena, and Guido Pella to reach the final, three accomplished clay courters. This was a great result for Cecchinato outside of Europe.

ATP Rotterdam

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Gael Monfils returned to form winning his 8th career title 6-3 1-6 6-2 against fellow veteran Stan Wawrinka. It was a thrilling moment played in good spirits and filled with joy for both players who have overcome injuries and adversity to return to the top of the game. Monfils 500 level title included wins against Daniil Medvedev, and David Goffin. Wawrinka upset Milos Raonic, Denis Shapovalov, and Kei Nishikori before falling short in the final. Both players would love to contend at the slam level again.

ATP Rio

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The Rio 500 on clay was the top event on the Golden Swing and Serbia’s Laslo Djere claimed his first title 6-3 7-5 against young gun Felix Auger-Aliassime. FAA played well but Djere was the player of the week, as he upset Dominic Thiem and also claimed wins against clay courters Casper Ruud and Aljaz Bedene to reach the final. FAA defeated Fabio Fognini, Christian Garin, Jaume Munar, and Pablo Cuevas to reach the final, showing his all court talent that is set to make him a top 20 player in the near future. Djere broke into the top 40 with the win, the tournament was filled with upsets.

ATP Marseille

Young gun Stefanos Tsitsipas found form and got past Mikhail Kukushkin 7-5 7-6 in the final after defeating David Goffin, and Sergiy Stakhovsky in the late rounds to reach the final. Kukushkin upset Denis Shapovalov and Andrey Rublev before getting a winnable semi against Ugo Humbert. This indoor hard court 250 saw some early round upsets but in the end the #1 seed Tsitsipas won his second career title.

ATP Delray Beach

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Radu Albot made history, winning his first career title and breaking into the top 60 with a 3-6 6-3 7-6 win against Dan Evans in a battle of journeymen in the Delray 250 hard court final. Evans edged John Isner in the semis and upset Frances Tiafoe in round 1 while Albot got past big servers Ivo Karlovic and Nick Kyrgios before nipping Americans Steve Johnson and McKenzie McDonald to reach the final.

ATP Dubai

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Roger Federer won his 100th career title at the Dubai 500 6-4 6-4 on hard courts against the in-form Stefanos Tsitsipas. Federer found form late in the tournament after dropping sets against Philipp Kohlschreiber and Fernando Verdasco in the first two matches. Marton Fucsovics and Borna Coric were his quarterfinal and semifinal opposition, while Tsitsipas had a relatively easy path until Gael Monfils was his semifinal opponent and he prevailed in that match in a third set tiebreak. The young Greek played well but Federer was just too good.

ATP Acapulco

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The Acapulco 500 was won by the struggling big server Nick Kyrgios 6-3 6-4, as he defeated Alexander Zverev in a battle of talented finalists. Kyrgios was focused on the week, edging John Isner in the semis, Rafael Nadal in the second round, and Stan Wawrinka in the quarters while Zverev had a smooth path that included Alex De Minaur in the quarters and Cam Norrie in the semis. Kyrgios has always had the talent to be an elite player, if he can keep this form he will contend in both upcoming Masters tournaments, but that can’t be predicted.

ATP Sao Paulo

Argentina’s Guido Pella won his first ATP title, winning the 250 on clay to close the Golden Swing 7-5 6-3 against Christian Garin. Pella edged Laslo Djere in the semis, while Garin upset Ruud. Pella didn’t have the toughest draw (Roberto Carballes Baena and Marco Trungelliti) but it was still a massive accomplishment to win his first title.

Young Guns Karen Khachanov and Frances Tiafoe Join Diego Schwartzman in ATP Winner’s Circle This Week
Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic

ATP Marseille

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Russia’s Karen Khachanov won his second career ATP title, taking the championship in Marseille 7-5 3-6 7-5 over Lucas Pouille. Khachanov beat Frenchman Julien Benneteau, veteran Tomas Berdych, Mischa Zverev, and Ruben Bemelmans on the week, dropping just a set against Pouille.

Pouille couldn’t make it 2/2 in French finals this year, but he did score tough wins over Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Filip Krajinovic. He beat Ilya Ivashka in the semis, Ivashka playing in his first ever semifinal at the ATP level after benefiting from drawing an injured Stan Wawrinka in the round of 16.

Raven Klaasen and Michael Venus defeated Marcus Daniell and Dom Inglot in the doubles final.

ATP Delray Beach

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Frances Tiafoe lived up to the hype this week in Delray. The 20 year old defeated Peter Gojowczyk 6-1 6-4 in the final, capturing his first ATP title in what was an amazing week for the young American. He began his winning streak against Matt Ebden in the opening round, then upset Juan Martin Del Potro in 3 sets. In the quarterfinals and semifinals he beat fellow young guns Hyeon Chung and Denis Shapovalov, dropping a set to Chung but recovering well. Tiafoe’s game was more solid this week than it had been previously.

Germany’s Gojowczyk defeated Lukas Lacko, John Isner, Reilly Opelka, and Steve Johnson to reach the final, his second at the ATP level. Despite defeating three Americans, he couldn’t defeat a fourth in the final.

Jackson Withrow and Jack Sock beat Nick Monroe and J.P. Smith in the doubles final, completing an All-American sweep at the Delray 250.

ATP Rio

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Diego Schwartzman wrapped up a 500 level title in Rio with a routine 6-2 6-3 win against Spanish veteran Fernando Verdasco. It’s the biggest title of the Argentine’s career and his second ATP title overall. He defeated Casper Ruud, Federico Delbonis, Gael Monfils, and Nicolas Jarry without dropping a set in any of his matches this week.

Verdasco turned back the clock a bit. The 34 year old showed his forehand range against Leonardo Mayer, Nicolas Kicker, Dominic Thiem, and Fabio Fognini. His wins against Thiem and Fognini, both in straight sets, was the best results he’s posted on tour in quite some time.

David Marrero joined with singles finalist Verdasco to win the doubles final against Nikola Mektic/Alexander Peya.

Juan Martin Del Potro and Milos Raonic Join Top Americans at ATP Delray Beach
Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic

The 250 stop in Delray Beach is event #2 on the USA’s ATP World Tour Schedule for 2018. Here is your full preview and predictions for this outdoor hard court tournament.

Top Half:

Top seed Jack Sock faces journeyman J.P. Smith in the opening round. Sock badly needs some wins but should have a tough customer in Ryan Harrison awaiting in round 2. Harrison needs to defeat American wild card Reilly Opelka in the opening round. Caught up in accusations of racism last week in New York, Harrison’s head may be somewhere else and I’ll go with Sock to find form and continue to demonstrate why he’s the American #1.

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John Isner is struggling and faces an opponent he just lost to in New York, Radu Albot. As unlikely as it may be, I’ll go with Albot to defeat Isner again before falling to Peter Gojowczyk/Lukas Lacko in round 2. Isner is way out of sorts. Sock over Gojowczyk is my pick in the quarters.

New York Open champion Kevin Anderson faces Evgeny Donskoy in the opening round. Donald Young/Ramkumar Ramanathan will follow. Anderson should be the favorite until he reaches the quarters. Milos Raonic should await at that stage. The Canadian is hoping to make a solid showing after struggling to start the season. Raonic faces Taro Daniel, Nikoloz Basilashvili/Steve Johnson will follow. I’ll back Raonic to reach the quarters and upset a tired Anderson at that stage.

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Bottom Half:

Juan Martin Del Potro vs. Hyeon Chung is a potential quarterfinal matchup that fans will be eager to watch. Del Potro opens with Jeremy Chardy, Matt Ebden/Frances Tiafoe will follow. Chung opens with Cam Norrie, Franko Skugor/Alexander Bublik will follow. I’ll go with Del Potro to power past Chung. Both players are solid, but Del Potro is tough on a hard court.

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I’ll back Canadian Denis Shapovalov to have a solid tournament. Shapovalov will have to get past Ivo Karlovic, but presuming he wins that match he’ll get Jared Donaldson or a tired Adrian Mannarino in round 2. New York finalist Sam Querrey faces Taylor Fritz, Dudi Sela/Mikhail Youzhny will follow. Shapovalov over a tired Querrey is my quarterfinal pick.

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Predictions

Semis
Raonic d. Sock
Del Potro d. Shapovalov

I’ll back the veterans Milos Raonic and Juan Martin Del Potro to build confidence and reach the final in Delray. Del Potro is my pick for champion.

Final
Del Potro d. Raonic

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2017 ATP Delray Beach Preview and Predictions
Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic

The first of Florida’s two ATP World Tour stops, here is your preview with predictions for the 2017 Delray Beach Open.

Delray Beach Open
ATP World Tour 250
Delray Beach, FL, USA
February 20-26, 2017
Surface: Hard
Prize Money: $534,625

Top 4 seeds (ATP ranking in parentheses)
1: Milos Raonic (4)
2: Ivo Karlovic (20)
3: Jack Sock (21)
4: Sam Querrey (29)

Delray boasts top 20 players, but otherwise it’s a pretty open field on the beach.

First round matches to watch

(8)Kyle Edmund vs. Adrian Mannarino

Mannarino has a h2h win, but this should be a very competitive hard court matchup. Both players could use a form boost, Mannarino’s shotmaking is a bit better than Edmund, which should make him the slightest of favorites.

Jared Donaldson vs. Mikhail Kukushkin

Donaldson has hit a skid, losing five straight matches. Kukushkin for his part has won three of his last four, reaching the semis in Memphis. The steady ATP veteran is never going to be an elite player, while Donaldson might be, but the young American seems listless right now, making Kukushkin a surprising favorite.

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Kevin Anderson vs. (7)Juan Martin Del Potro

Two of the ATP’s most talented tall players, both of these players have been bit hard by the injury bug, and had their careers derailed in the process. Anderson hasn’t won a match this year, while Del Potro is making his season debut. Last year even a rusty Del Potro showed what a talented player he is. Remaining Argentina’s best player, JMDP has never lost to South Africa’s best Anderson (5-0 h2h), and presuming he can kick off the rust he should win his first match of 2017.

(6)Bernard Tomic vs. (Q)Steve Darcis

Tomic is just 2-3 this year, while Darcis has seven wins just this month. The veteran Belgian has never played the junkballing Tomic, it should be an interesting style contrast. Tomic is the better player, but he’s looked unfit in 2017, Darcis is playing quite well and at his best he should groove past a frustrated Tomic.

Taylor Fritz vs. (Q)Akira Santillan

Australian teen Santillan will be bidding for his first ever ATP win against American teen Fritz in this matchup of potential future ATP stars. Santillan has good form, having come through qualifying, but the more experienced Fritz should have a slight edge in this one, despite not having a great start in 2017. Be sure to check these young guns out before they get famous.

(2)Ivo Karlovic vs. Donald Young

Karlovic is 3-0 against Young, but he’s lost three straight matches, while Young reached the semifinals in Memphis. If Karlovic wins this, he could take home the Delray title, but Young also his eyes on a potential title here and won’t be broken easily. Karlovic, a former Delray champ, should win the tiebreaks to advance here.

Top Half:

Milos Raonic is the best player in this field and should blitz past Tim Smyczek, Borna Coric/Santiago Giraldo, and most likely Rendy Lu/Adrian Mannarino in his first three matches. Coric is slowly easing into form, but still won’t be able to deal with Raonic’s serve in his current form. Lu opens with wild card Bjorn Fratangelo, Mannarino/Edmund will be his round 2 opponent, with most likely Mannarino the slight favorite to reach the quarters given Lu hasn’t been in great form recently. Raonic will have lost focus if he doesn’t reach at least the semifinals here.

Sam Querrey looked awful in Memphis, but there are much worse draws in round 1 than Israeli veteran Dudi Sela, and the American should power into round 2 against Kukushkin (or Donaldson). I have the defending champion Querrey defeating Kukushkin before falling to another former champion, Del Potro, in the quarterfinals (2-1 h2h in favor of Del Potro). JMDP will face Memphis quarterfinalist Damir Dzumhur in round 2, after a win against Anderson, presuming Dzumhur continues his positive play against Konstantin Kravchuk.

Bottom Half:

The Karlovic/Young winner looks set to face Darcis or Tomic in the quarterfinals, unless the nearly retired former champion Tommy Haas or Memphis finalist Nikoloz Basilashvili interrupts that. Karlovic should serve past Young and Fritz/Santillan, while I have Darcis beating a tired Basilashvili, after the Georgian defeats Haas. It’s tough to pick between Karlovic and Darcis, form favors Darcis, but in Delray I’ll go with Karlovic.

Two of America’s best, Jack Sock and Steve Johnson should face off in the quarterfinals, presuming Johnson defeats his young countryman Stefan Kozlov, then Yoshihito Nishioka/Kimmer Coppejans and Sock eases past Radu Albot and Dustin Brown/Guillermo Garcia-Lopez. Sock beat Johnson when they met in Auckland earlier this year, Sock will be the favorite to reach the semis. Brown is coming off a back injury, Garcia-Lopez continues to struggle, Kozlov is yet to reach an ATP caliber level, and both Coppejans and Nishioka are vulnerable to getting overpowered.

Dark Horse: Steve Darcis

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The qualifier Darcis has a shot at getting past Tomic, Basilashvili and the big serving Karlovic to reach the semifinals. He’s been playing some of the best tennis of his career lately, and it was a bit of a quirk that he had to go through qualifying in the first place. If a non-seed is going to exceed expectations, this veteran is a good choice to do it.

Predictions

Semis
Raonic d. Del Potro
Sock d. Karlovic

Raonic has split meetings against Del Potro, but should be in better form, giving him an edge. Karlovic has consistently battled past Sock on hard courts, but the American’s form is too good to pass up, he has a great shot at reaching another ATP final.

Final
Raonic d. Sock

6-2 this year, Raonic is playing well enough, should be fresh, and has an 8-2 h2h lead against Sock, making him a clear favorite to take home this ATP title.

Unseeded Kyrgios, Cuevas, and Querrey Capture ATP Titles
Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic

ATP Marseille

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Nick Kyrgios became one of the youngest ATP champions of all-time when he captured the title in Marseille at the age of 20. Kyrgios dominated a tough field and didn’t drop a set, as he concluded his tournament triumph with a 6-2 7-6(3) victory over Marin Cilic.

Kyrgios’s serve and return of serve were both clicking this week as he defeated Vasek Pospisil and Teymuraz Gabashvili 4 and 4, Richard Gasquet 6-0 6-4 and the powerful Tomas Berdych 6-4 6-2. Gasquet was still nursing a back injury, but nobody could stop NK from rising this week. The young Aussie has already demonstrated his ability to win big matches and do well in slams, but his ranking should rapidly improve if he can win more ATP titles and compete on a weekly basis. Kyrgios lost his only previous ATP final last year.

Cilic reached his first ATP final of the season as he slipped past Robin Haase in three sets, Andrey Kuznetsov in straights, and Benoit Paire in a close three setter. Paire upset Stan Wawrinka in the previous round. The former Grand Slam winner is showing signs of improvement, but still hasn’t reached the same level that he was once at and remains outside the top 10.

Mate Pavic and Michael Venus combined to win their third ATP doubles title of the season over Colin Fleming and Jonathan Erlich in a routine doubles final.

ATP Rio

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Pablo Cuevas won his fourth career ATP title, and his first ever at the 500 level in a tight three setter over surprise first-time ATP finalist Guido Pella 6-4 6-7(5) 6-4. The Rio tournament was plagued by both rain and upsets this week, but the dirtballer Cuevas was a true warrior and had the week of his life in Rio.

Cuevas dominated Facundo Bagnis in his opening match, then fended off a challenge from upstart wild card Thiago Monteiro, and beat Federico Delbonis in straights. He faced Rafael Nadal in the semis and stunned the king of clay in three sets, with two tiebreaks. The match against Nadal was his first ever top 10 win on clay, as Nadal continues to struggle and decline. Nadal wasn’t the only big name to lose in Rio this week, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was stunned by the ATP débutante Monteiro. The Brazilian has a bright future ahead.

Pella was down match point in round 1 against a cramping John Isner, but won a third set tiebreak to survive and advance. The Argentine built on that big win and beat Santiago Giraldo and Daniel Gimeno-Traver, the latter in three sets, to reach the semis. Dominic Thiem was playing and doubles and singles this week and suffered from exhaustion as he was rolled over by Pella in a semifinal upset.

Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah won the doubles title for the second week in a row on the Golden Swing. The Colombian duo defeated David Marrero and Pablo Carreno Busta.

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ATP Delray Beach

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Sam Querrey won his eighth career ATP title and his first in four years in Delray Beach. The American has had his best success on home soil and his latest triumph came over countryman Rajeev Ram 6-4 7-6(6). Ram was playing in his third career ATP final, as the journeyman has made surprising success with his serve and volley game.

Querrey, who was coming off the semis in Memphis, has been in great form as he recovered from dropping the first set to Thiemo de Bakker to win in three sets, going on to defeat Austin Krajicek, Tim Smyczek in a tight three sets, and surprise semifinalist Juan Martin Del Potro in a close two sets.

Del Potro lacks a solid backhand, but his trademark forehand was looking sharp in his first ATP comeback tournament. The Argentine successfully won three ATP matches this week, and his fans can hope for more going forward. His serve also seems improved.

The 31 year old Ram took advantage of Bernard Tomic’s tank, and won three setters over Illya Marchenko and Benjamin Becker before shocking Grigor Dimitrov in the semis. Ram didn’t play out of the ordinary, but Dimitrov was reckless and erratic.

Oliver Marach and Fabrice Martin survived being down match point six times to defeat the legendary Bryan brothers for the Delray Beach doubles title.

Steen Kirby (Marseille)

2016 ATP Delray Beach Preview and Predictions
Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic

After the 250 stop in Memphis, the second ATP stop in the USA is Delray Beach for hard court tennis, South Florida style.

Delray Beach Open
ATP World Tour 250
February 15-21, 2016
Delray Beach, FL, USA
Surface: Hard
Prize Money: $514,065

Top 4 seeds (ATP ranking in parentheses)
1: Kevin Anderson (14)
2: Bernard Tomic (20)
3: Ivo Karlovic (26)
4: Grigor Dimitrov (27)

Delray has a collection of interesting players, though this tournament lacks an elite name, we should see good matchups this week.

First round matchups to watch:

(7)Donald Young vs. Mikhail Kukushkin

Both were quarterfinalists last week in Memphis, with Kukushkin holding a h2h win, and a slightly better start to his season. Young could do well this week and defend as much of his finalist points from last year as possible, but he could also see himself ousted as a seed.

(WC)Juan Martin Del Potro vs. Denis Kudla

Denis Kudla is 4-4 to start the year, while Del Potro is playing for the first time since the 2015 ATP Miami stop. He’ll try once more to reboot his career and put his wrist injuries behind him after playing just 14 matches over the last two seasons. Del Potro is one of the few active Grand Slam winners on tour, and he once had the game to challenge the world’s best. We’ll see what kind of form he’s in, and if he still has that type of game in this match. Kudla’s ball striking makes him a consistent opponent.

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(WC)Noah Rubin vs. Sam Groth

Sam Groth is a horrific 1-7 since last fall’s US Open, as his one dimensional serve first game has failed to be enough to win matches as of late. Rubin is a rising young American talent who has beefed up his game over the past few months. He has a challenger semi and a slam win already in 2016, with a good run in Delray quite possible. This tournament is a stop on the road in his development as a player.

Top Half:

Former Delray champion Kevin Anderson will open with American Austin Krajicek, and though Anderson is just 1-2 to start the season, he should move his h2h to 4-0 against Krajicek, who is just 2-4 to start the year. Memphis semifinalist Sam Querrey will face a struggling Thiemo de Bakker (1-3 in his last four). Anderson should be on upset alert against Querrey, Sam leads the h2h 8-5, with five of those wins coming on hard courts. Querrey is lower ranked, but I have him sliding into the quarters.

Young/Kukushkin will face Memphis finalist Taylor Fritz, a seeded entry, or wild card Tim Smyczek. The teenager Fritz stunned in Memphis, reaching his first ever ATP final in just his third career ATP tournament. Fritz beat three ATP caliber opponents, including winning a pair of third set tiebreaks, to advance. He could be tired out and fall to Smyczek, but his talent is clear, and he’s likely to win at least one match in Delray. Fritz also has a shot against Young/Kukushkin, but with stamina a factor, I have Querrey vs. Kukushkin in the quarters. Querrey should defeat Kukushkin at that stage given the surface.

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Defending champion Ivo Karlovic will open with qualifier John-Patrick Smith, Karlovic lacks a win this season, but he’s likely to get that over the journeyman Smith. Del Potro/Kudla await in round 2, and Del Potro could surprise adn reach the quarters, but Karlovic is the favorite in his seed line.

Jeremy Chardy has two ATP quarterfinals this season, and he’ll face off with Matt Ebden first off. Ebden hasn’t won a match this year and Chardy is likely to take his heavy hitting game against Rubin or Groth in round 2. Rubin has a great shot at his first ATP quarterfinal, and I have him pulling it off as a dark horse this week. Rubin vs. Karlovic, or Chardy vs. Karlovic, is an interesting matchup, and Rubin could do like Fritz did in Memphis and make a deep run, Karlovic is the favorite though.

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Bottom Half:

Bernard Tomic is 8-4 to start the season, and hard courts suit his junkballing game well. He should get past serve and volleyer Rajeev Ram in round 1 and either Marcel Granollers or Illya Marchenko in round 2. He’s far and above the best hard court player in his section.

Steve Johnson has been struggling with just a 2-4 record to start his season, John Millman has a similar hard court centric style and has played every week of the ATP season thus far. It’s hard to parse between them, though Johnson should have an edge at home in the states. Qualifier Radu Albot will go up against Memphis quarterfinalist Benjamin Becker for a round 2 spot. Becker beat Millman in Memphis, and I have him reaching the quarterfinals this week once again in Delray.

Tomic won his last meeting against Becker after previously being 0-3, at this point in their careers Tomic should be able to get himself into the semis.

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Grigor Dimitrov has the talent to walk away with the title this week, but he’ll need to find form and get past Israeli veteran Dudi Sela first. Memphis semifinalist Ricardas Berankis, an undersized battler, looms in round 2, presuming Berankis beats Damir Dzumhur for the second week in a row. Dimitrov is 7-3 to start the season and should outwork Berankis to reach the quarters. He can earn his 10th win of the season over Adrian Mannarino.

The #8 seed Mannarino opens with Malek Jaziri, who continues to be an out of shape underachiever, with qualifier Dennis Novikov, or qualifier Tatsuma Ito next up. Mannarino should reach his second quarterfinal of the season before falling to Dimitrov.

Dark Horse: Noah Rubin

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Sam Querrey should reach the semis this week as well, but Rubin has the chance to be the most impressive. He’s clearly improved physically and mentally since turning pro, and the John McEnroe protege can reach the semifinals without having to face an opponent in good form. Chardy and Karlovic are tough matchups, and Del Potro could be as well, but Rubin is going to give the home fans something to cheer about this week.

Predictions

Semis
Querrey d. Rubin
Dimitrov d. Tomic

Querrey has an experience edge over Rubin, Dimtirov is 2-0 against Tomic in the h2h.

Final
Dimitrov d. Querrey

Dimitrov is 2-0 against Querrey in the h2h, and him or Tomic are the favorites for the title in Delray Beach. A trophy in Delray will go a long way to helping Dimitrov rebuild his ranking.

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Steen Kirby (Marseille)

David Ferrer wins second title of 2015 in Rio, veterans Simon, Karlovic, add titles in Marseille and Delray

Posted by Admin on February 22, 2015

Posted in: ATP, Delray Beach, Marseille, Rio, Steen Kirby. Tagged: 2015 ATP Delray, 2015 ATP Delray Recap, 2015 ATP Marseille, 2015 ATP Marseille Recap, 2015 ATP Rio, 2015 ATP Rio Recap, 2015 Delray Beach Open, 2015 Delray Beach Open Recap, 2015 Open 13, 2015 Open 13 Recap, 2015 Rio Open Recap, atp, ATP 250, ATP 500, ATP Delray, ATP Delray Beach, ATP Delray Recap, ATP Marseille, ATP Marseille Recap, ATP Rio, ATP Rio Recap, ATP World Tour, ATP World Tour 500, bryan brothers, colin fleming, david ferrer, Delray Beach Open, Delray Beach Open Recap, Donald Young, Fabio Fognini, gael monfils, Gilles Simon, ivo karlovic, Jonathan Marray, leander paes, Marin Dragnaja Henri Kontinen, Martin Klizan, Oliver Marach, open 13, Open 13 Recap, Pablo Andujar, Philipp Oswald, Raven Klaasen, Rio Open Recap.

David Ferrer wins second title of 2015 in Rio, veterans Simon, Karlovic, add titles in Marseille and Delray
Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic

ATP Rio

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David Ferrer took advantage of a relatively easy draw for a 500 level event in Rio, and captured his second title of the 2015 season with a 6-2 6-3 drubbing of Fabio Fognini. Ferrer broke early on against Fognini, and shellacked him the rest of the way. Though a few games were close, Ferrer broke Fognini’s desire by the time he got his first break of the second set and went up 6-2 5-1, eventually closing it out 6-3. His movement and shotmaking were top quality, while Fognini lacked consistency.

Previously in the tournament, Ferrer, who has lost just once this year, defeated Daniel Gimeno-Traver in straights, Thiemo De Bakker via retirement from a set up, Juan Monaco in 3 sets, 6-2 in the third, and surprise semifinalist Andreas Haider-Maurer in straights. Haider-Maurer upset Tommy Robredo en route to the semis in a great week for the veteran dirtballer.

Fognini, who was in atrocious form going into this tournament, recaptured some of his previous top 15 ability on clay and scored wins over Jiri Vesely in 3 sets, Pablo Andujar in straights, and Federico Delbonis in 3 sets, before shocking Rafael Nadal 7-5 in the third set to reach the final. With the exception of the Andujar match, all of Fognini’s contests were remarkable to watch this week. He got breadsticked in the opening set against Vesely, and looked listless, but stormed his way back to win a second set tiebreak 9-7, after which Vesely collapsed. Against Delbonis he generated more than a half dozen match points over two sets (he lost the second set tiebreak 10-8 after taking the first set), in the third he took the tiebreak 11-9 in the longest match of his career that ended after midnight in Rio. Again Nadal he was also breadsticked in the opening set, in a match that appeared routine, but stormed his way back to win the final two sets.

Martin Klizan and Philipp Oswald formed a winning partnership in the doubles, they defeated Pablo Andujar and Oliver Marach in the doubles final, as Oswald beat his countryman Marach.

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ATP Marseille

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Gilles Simon won his first title in over a season, and his second career Marseille title (the other came in 2007) with a nailbiting 6-4 1-6 7-6 victory over his countryman Gael Monfils. The win will help Simon stay in the top 20, and he beat Monfils even while winning 7 fewer total points, and generating fewer break point chances (8 compared to 11). In the third, both players broke once, and Simon took the final set tiebreak 7-4.

Simon beat Pierre-Hugues Herbert from a set up via retirement, and then beat Borna Coric in 3 sets, Jeremy Chardy in 2 sets, and Sergiy Stakhovsky from a set down, in 3 sets. Stakohovsky upset Stan Wawrinka this week in a massive win for him.

Monfils again played well on home soil, beating Alex Zverev, Andrey Kuznetsov, Simone Bolelli and Roberto Bautista Agut without dropping a set.

Marin Draganja and Henri Kontinen won the doubles title over UK duo Colin Fleming and Jonathan Marray.

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ATP Delray

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Ivo Karlovic joined Simon as a veteran champion this week, the old school, big serving 35 year old beat an in-form Donald Young 6-3 6-3 with 13 aces and 3 breaks of serve. Young generated 7 break point chances against the Croat but no success at taking them as he lost his second career ATP final. The title is the sixth of Karlovic’s career, and his first since 2013, Karlovic moves to 6-7 in ATP finals and did one better than his 2010 final in Delray.

Dr. Ivo performed successful surgeries against Dustin Brown in 3 sets, Thanasi Kokkinakis, Steve Johnson, and Adrian Mannarino all in straights.

Young continued his strong run of play with wins over Ivan Dodig, Alejandro Gonzalez, Alex Dolgopolov and Bernard Tomic this week, the latter two wins coming in 3 sets. Also notable is Yoshihito Nishioka, the Japanese teenager reached his first ever ATP quarterfinal, by qualifying and defeating Igor Sijsling and Marinko Matosevic in straight sets, before losing to Tomic.

The Bryans won a doubles title on home soil over Raven Klaasen and Leander Paes.

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On an interesting sidenote, a total of 7 main draw singles retirements took place in one day (2 in Delray, 4 in Rio, 1 in Marseille), 8 total retirements took place on tour this week, in what seems like a high number for a week on the ATP tour.

Steen Kirby (Marseille)

Tennis Atlantic 2015 ATP Draw Challenge Week 7 (Rio, Marseille, Delray Beach)

Posted by Admin on February 16, 2015

Posted in: 2015 ATP Draw Challenge, Chris De Waard, Courtney Massey, Delray Beach, Jeff McMillan, Marseille, Niall Clarke, Rio, Steen Kirby. Tagged: 2015 ATP Picks, 2015 ATP Rio, 2015 Delray Beach Open, 2015 Delray Beach Open Picks, 2015 Open 13, 2015 Open 13 Marseille, 2015 Open 13 Marseille Picks, 2015 Rio Open, 2015 Rio Open Picks, atp, ATP 250, ATP 500, ATP Delray, ATP Delray Beach, ATP Marseille, ATP Picks, ATP Predictions, ATP Rio, ATP Tennis, ATP World Tour, ATP World Tour 250, ATP World Tour 500, Delray Beach Open, Delray Beach Open picks, open 13, Open 13 Marseille, Open 13 Marseille Picks, Open 13 Picks, Rio Open, Rio Open Picks, Rio Open Predictions, Rio Open Presented by Claro, Tennis Picks, Tennis Predictions, Tennis Tipping.

Tennis Atlantic 2015 ATP Draw Challenge Week 7 (Rio, Marseille, Delray Beach)
Staff, Tennis Atlantic

Another 500 pointer is at stake this week with Rio, and 250 points each are up for grabs in Marseille and Delray.

Rio (draw)

2015 Rio Open Presented by Claro Picks

Steen Kirby’s predictions

Round 2 Matches: Nadal vs. Berlocq, Montanes vs. Almagro, Fognini vs. Andujar, Schwartzman vs. Lajovic, Mayer vs. Souza, Ramos vs. Robredo, Giraldo vs. Nieminen, de Bakker vs. Ferrer
Quarterfinals: Nadal vs. Almagro, Fognini vs. Lajovic, Mayer vs. Robredo, Giraldo vs. Ferrer
Semifinals: Nadal vs. Lajovic, Mayer vs. Ferrer
Final: Nadal vs. Ferrer
Champion: Nadal

Courtney Massey’s predictions

Round 2 Matches: Nadal vs. Berlocq, Montanes vs. Almagro, Vesely vs. Lorenzi, Schwartzman vs. Klizan, Mayer vs. Souza, Haider-Maurer vs. Robredo, Monaco vs. Nieminen, Clezar vs. Ferrer
Quarterfinals: Nadal vs. Almagro, Vesely vs. Schwartzman, Mayer vs. Robredo, Monaco vs. Ferrer
Semifinals: Nadal vs. Vesely, Robredo vs. Ferrer
Final: Nadal vs. Robredo
Champion: Nadal

Chris de Waard’s predictions

Round 2 Matches: Nadal vs. Berlocq, Gonzalez vs. Almagro, Vesely vs. Andujar, Schwartzman vs. Klizan, Mayer vs. Souza, Ramos vs. Ymer, Giraldo vs. Cecchinato, de Bakker vs. Ferrer
Quarterfinals: Nadal vs. Almagro, Vesely vs. Schwartzman, Mayer vs. Ramos, Giraldo vs. Ferrer
Semifinals: Nadal vs. Vesely, Mayer vs. Ferrer
Final: Nadal vs. Ferrer
Champion: Ferrer

Jeff McMillan’s predictions

Round 2 Matches: Nadal vs. Berlocq, Gonzalez vs. Almagro, Fognini vs. Lorenzi, Delbonis vs. Klizan, Mayer vs. Souza, Ramos vs. Robredo, Giraldo vs. Nieminen, Clezar vs. Ferrer
Quarterfinals: Nadal vs. Almagro, Fognini vs. Klizan, Mayer vs. Robredo, Giraldo vs. Ferrer
Semifinals: Nadal vs. Fognini, Robredo vs. Ferrer
Final: Nadal vs. Ferrer
Champion: Ferrer

Niall Clarke’s predictions

Round 2 Matches: Nadal vs. Berlocq, Montanes vs. Almagro, Vesely vs. Andujar, Schwartzman vs. Klizan, Mayer vs. Souza, Ramos vs. Robredo, Giraldo vs. Nieminen, de Bakker vs. Ferrer
Quarterfinals: Nadal vs. Almagro, Vesely vs. Klizan, Souza vs. Robredo, Giraldo vs. Ferrer
Semifinals: Nadal vs. Klizan, Robredo vs. Ferrer
Final: Klizan vs. Ferrer
Champion: Klizan

A variety of possible champions this week, but general consensus is on Rafael Nadal or David Ferrer winning the title, with a variety of semifinalists possible

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Marseille (draw)

2015 Open 13 Marseille Picks

Steen Kirby’s predictions

Round 2 Matches: Raonic vs. Bolelli, Kuznetsov vs. Monfils, Bautista Agut vs. Pospisil, Sousa vs. Janowicz, Simon vs. Istomin, Chardy vs. Gulbis, Stakhovsky vs. Struff, Mathieu vs. Wawrinka
Quarterfinals: Raonic vs. Monfils, Bautista Agut vs. Janowicz, Simon vs. Chardy, Struff vs. Wawrinka
Semifinals: Raonic vs. Bautista Agut, Simon vs. Wawrinka
Final: Raonic vs. Simon
Champion: Raonic

Courtney Massey’s predictions

Round 2 Matches: Raonic vs. Vanni, Golubev vs. Monfils, Bautista Agut vs. Pospisil, Thiem vs. Janowicz, Simon vs. Coric, Chardy vs. Gulbis, Stakhovsky vs. Qualifier, Paire vs. Wawrinka
Quarterfinals: Raonic vs. Monfils, Bautista Agut vs. Thiem, Simon vs. Gulbis, Stakhovsky vs. Wawrinka
Semifinals: Raonic vs. Bautista Agut, Simon vs. Wawrinka
Final: Raonic vs. Wawrinka
Champion: Wawrinka

Chris de Waard’s predictions

Round 2 Matches: Raonic vs. Bolelli, Kuznetsov vs. Monfils, Bautista Agut vs. Pospisil, Thiem vs. Janowicz, Simon vs. Coric, Chardy vs. Gulbis, Stakhovsky vs. Struff, Paire vs. Wawrinka
Quarterfinals: Raonic vs. Monfils, Bautista Agut vs. Janowicz, Simon vs. Chardy, Stakhovsky vs. Wawrinka
Semifinals: Raonic vs. Bautista Agut, Simon vs. Wawrinka
Final: Raonic vs. Simon
Champion: Raonic

Jeff McMillan’s predictions

Round 2 Matches: Raonic vs. Bolelli, Golubev vs. Monfils, Bautista Agut vs. Pospisil, Thiem vs. Goffin, Simon vs. Istomin, Chardy vs. Gulbis, Stakhovsky vs. Qualifier, Paire vs. Wawrinka
Quarterfinals: Raonic vs. Monfils, Pospisil vs. Goffin, Simon vs. Gulbis, Qualifier vs. Wawrinka
Semifinals: Monfils vs. Goffin, Simon vs. Wawrinka
Final: Monfils vs. Simon
Champion: Simon

Niall Clarke’s predictions

Round 2 Matches: Raonic vs. Bolelli, Golubev vs. Monfils, Bautista Agut vs. Pospisil, Thiem vs. Janowicz, Simon vs. Istomin, Chardy vs. Gulbis, Stakhovsky vs. Struff, Paire vs. Wawrinka
Quarterfinals: Raonic vs. Monfils, Bautista Agut vs. Janowicz, Simon vs. Chardy, Stakhovsky vs. Paire
Semifinals: Monfils vs. Janowicz, Simon vs. Paire
Final: Monfils vs. Simon
Champion: Simon

Gilles Simon, or Milos Raonic are picked as champions this week, Gael Monfils is also expected to do well, and opinions are mixed on how Stan Wawrinka will fare after winning Rotterdam.

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Delray Beach (draw)

2015 Delray Beach Open by the Venetian Las Vegas Picks

Steen Kirby’s predictions

Round 2 Matches: Anderson vs. Groth, Kudla vs. Mannarino, Brown vs. Qualifier, Sela vs. Johnson, Querrey vs. Young, Smyczek vs. Dolgopolov, Troicki vs. Tomic, Sijsling vs. Isner
Quarterfinals: Anderson vs. Kudla, Brown vs. Johnson, Querrey vs. Smyczek, Troicki vs. Isner
Semifinals: Anderson vs. Johnson, Querrey vs. Troicki
Final: Anderson vs. Troicki
Champion: Troicki

Courtney Massey’s predictions

Round 2 Matches: Anderson vs. Lu, Kudla vs. Mannarino, Karlovic vs. Qualifier, Rublev vs. Johnson, Querrey vs. Dodig, Smyczek vs. Gabashvili, Troicki vs. Jaziri, Sijsling vs. Isner
Quarterfinals: Anderson vs. Kudla, Karlovic vs. Johnson, Dodig vs. Smyczek, Troicki vs. Isner
Semifinals: Anderson vs. Karlovic, Smyczek vs. Troicki
Final: Karlovic vs. Smyczek
Champion: Karlovic

Chris de Waard’s predictions

Round 2 Matches: Anderson vs. Groth, Kudla vs. Mannarino, Brown vs. Krajnovic, Rublev vs. Johnson, Querrey vs. Dodig, Smyczek vs. Dolgopolov, Troicki vs. Tomic, Qualifier vs. Isner
Quarterfinals: Anderson vs. Mannarino, Brown vs. Johnson, Querrey vs. Smyczek, Troicki vs. Isner
Semifinals: Anderson vs. Johnson, Querrey vs. Troicki
Final: Anderson vs. Troicki
Champion: Troicki

Jeff McMillan’s predictions

Round 2 Matches: Anderson vs. Groth, Lacko vs. Mannarino, Brown vs. Qualifier, Rublev vs. Johnson, Querrey vs. Young, Smyczek vs. Dolgopolov, Troicki vs. Tomic, Qualifier vs. Isner
Quarterfinals: Anderson vs. Mannarino, Brown vs. Johnson, Young vs. Smyczek, Tomic vs. Isner
Semifinals: Anderson vs. Johnson, Young vs. Isner
Final: Johnson vs. Isner
Champion: Isner

Niall Clarke’s predictions

Round 2 Matches: Anderson vs. Groth, Kudla vs. Mannarino, Karlovic vs. Qualifier, Rublev vs. Johnson, Querrey vs. Young, Smyczek vs. Gabashvili, Troicki vs. Tomic, Qualifier vs. Isner
Quarterfinals: Anderson vs. Kudla, Karlovic vs. Johnson, Querrey vs. Smyczek, Troicki vs. Isner
Semifinals: Anderson vs. Johnson, Querrey vs. Isner
Final: Anderson vs. Isner
Champion: Isner

Troicki or Isner are the favorites seemingly in this very open field, Jeff has believes in American Steve Johnson to reach his maiden ATP final, while Courtney is backing the unseeded Tim Smyczek to do the same.

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Week 6 standings

Rotterdam
1: Courtney (122 points) (+500 points overall)
2: Niall (114 points) (+300 points)
3: Steen (78 points) (+180 points)
4: Jeff (66 points) (+180 points)
5: Chris (58 points) (+90 points)

Courtney wins thanks to having Wawrinka as champ, and Niall did slightly poorer earlier in the tournament, though he also correctly predicted Wawrinka, and credit to both of them for a good showing in the highest point value tournament this week.

Memphis
1: Chris (104 points) (+250 points)
2: Niall (102 points) (+150 points)
3: Courtney (102 points) (+90 points)
4: Jeff (100 points) (+90 points)
5: Steen (94 points) (+45 points)

Everyone had Nishikori as champion this week and thus the point values were all closely clustered, Chris was most accurate early on though and takes the title.

Sao Paulo
1: Steen (56 points) (+250 points)
2: Chris (54 points) (+150 points)
3: Courtney (50 points) (+90 points)
4: Jeff (28 points) (+90 points)
5: Niall (16 points) (+45 points)

Steen had Pablo Cuevas, the champion, in the final, which was enough to get him the title with this unpredictable tournament.

Overall standings (after week 6)

1: Steen: 3795 ranking points (+475 points overall)
2: Courtney: 2415 points (+680 points overall)
3: Chris: 2270 points (+490 points overall)
4: Jeff: 2200 points (+360 points overall)
5: Niall: 1850 points (+495 points overall)

Courtney experiences a big rise to second place, and Chris jumps ahead of Jeff, with Steen still in the outright lead and Niall bringing up the pack.